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| Sunday, 19 February 2006 |
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Hope fades of rescue in Philippine mudslide TACLOBAN, Philippines, Feb 18, (AFP) - Rescue workers dug frantically through the mud Saturday to save around 1,400 people feared buried in a massive Philippines landslide, including some 200 children trapped in their school. President Gloria Arroyo said desperate pleas for help had been sent by text message from staff and students in the wiped-out village of Guinsaugon, but did not say when they had been received as hope faded of finding any survivors. "They got a message from the head teacher there. They are still there," Arroyo told a press conference in Manila. But soldiers and citizen volunteers temporarily suspended the rescue effort after another minor landslide happened, and no survivors had so far been found on Saturday morning. "All they are finding are dead bodies," said radio reporter Jimmy Angay from the scene. A massive wall of mud slammed into the village in the south of the Philippine island of Leyte on Friday, wiping out hundreds of homes and leaving an unknown number of people trapped under several metres (yards) of muck. Witnesses and TV footage depicted a scene of utter devastation, with only crumpled tin roofing and the tops of some coconut palms visible above a huge sea of mud. Figures for the missing varied considerably, with two local officials estimating the number at up to 3,000. There were no up-to-date figures for the population of the stricken village. Adriano Fuego, director of civil defence operations in the area, told AFP that 1,420 were missing, there were 117 survivors and 23 bodies had been recovered at Guinsaugon village in the south of Leyte island. The civil defense office said the landslide covered an area of nine square kilometers (3.5 square miles). The civil defense office said a Briton it identified as "Rebor White" was among the dead. It was not immediately clear if this was a man or a woman. It confirmed that 206 pupils and 40 teachers were trapped inside the elementary school. Local legislator Roger Mercado was one of those to estimate a higher toll. "We now believe that there are 2,000 or 3,000 who are buried there (in the village)," Mercado told local radio station DYVL. "We have maybe a 10 percent chance of recovering them alive," said Maria Lim, mayor of the nearby town of Saint Bernard. Several relatives told the station they had received short text messages from the missing villagers as late as early Saturday, appealing for help. A huge domestic and international rescue operation was under way. The international Red Cross Friday appealed for two million Swiss francs (1.52 million dollars) in funds. Australia pledged one million dollars (740,000 US) in immediate aid and the United States sent two military ships. Two C-130 aircraft carrying search and rescue teams and 26,000 pounds of medical supplies left Manila for Tacloban early Saturday. Mayor Lim said rescuers resumed their search at first light Saturday morning, having suspended efforts when darkness fell on the village 400 miles (675 kilometers) southeast of Manila. Several hundred residents of 11 surrounding hamlets have been moved to higher ground, many of them into Saint Bernard, "for fear that more slides might occur," the civil defense office in Manila said. Rescuers Saturday were using spades to shift tonnes of mud, with little heavy equipment able to access the scene. Experts say the area's geology, heavy rainfall and deforestation may all have contributed to the tragedy. Leyte island, which sits on a geological fault, features narrow, flat coastal areas and a mountainous interior and is prone to landslides. Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz said 500 millimeters (20 inches) of rain had fallen in the area since February 1, nearly five times the average for the month.
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